KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Thursday evening the 49th-ranked Vanderbilt men’s tennis team’s hopes of advancing into quarterfinal play of the Southeastern Conference Tournament were dashed as No. 18 Mississippi State defeated the Dores, 4-1.
12th-seeded VU advanced to the second round of play after knocking out 13th-seeded Alabama Wednesday morning by a score of 4-2. The Commodores nabbed the doubles point over the Crimson Tide, and collected its necessary final three points on courts one, two and three.
While MSU took the first win in a 6-2 victory over No. 47 Lachlan McPhee and Billy Rowe, it was the Commodores who clinched the one-point advantage. The duo of Daniel Valent and Panu Virtanen leveled the competition, going up 5-1 before allowing Nuno Borges and Strajinha Rakic their second and last point on court three. In a back-and-forth matchup on court two, at 4-all, Pen Binet and Baker Newman broke away from Vaughn Hunter and Mate Cutura to seal the lead, 6-4.
The clinch was the Commodores second this season over the maroon and white.
Reeling off the doubles point, the Bulldogs delved into singles play sweeping first sets. Mississippi State leveled the match, 1-all, earning its first singles victory on court five. Giovanni Oradini defeated freshman Panu Virtanen, 6-3, 6-1.
No. 111 Rankic gave MSU the one-point advantage as the sophomore escaped a close first set as Rowe rallied back into the competition from a 4-1 deficit, 7-5. Rankic closed out the contest taking set number two, 6-3. The Bulldogs extended the lead 3-1 with Trevor Foshey’s victory over Tate Allwardt. Foshey earned the first-set advantage over the junior Commodore, 6-3. Like his teammates on courts one and two, Allwardt nearly forced a third set, falling 6-4.
Down 3-1, with Alex Ross handedly taking his second set, 6-3, to split, attention turned to Valent and Newman as both student-athletes began battling in match-depending second set tiebreakers. While both student athletes had opportunities, Mississippi State clinched its spot in the round of eight against Newman, 6-2, 7-6(4).
With the loss, the Commodores now look to the NCAA individual tournament, which will begin July 24 in Athens, Ga.
Results:
Mississippi State 4, Vanderbilt 1
Singles
- #3 Nuno Borges (MSU) vs. #54 Daniel Valent (VANDY) 6-3, 6-6, unfinished
- Mate Cutura (MSU) def. #107 Baker Newman (VANDY) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
- #111 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Billy Rowe (VANDY) 7-5, 6-3
- Niclas Braun (MSU) vs. Alex Ross (VANDY) 6-3, 3-6, 1-1, unfinished
- Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Panu Virtanen (VANDY) 6-3, 6-1
- Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Tate Allwardt (VANDY) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
- #9 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. #47 Lachlan McPhee/Billy Rowe (VANDY) 6-2
- Pen Binet/Baker Newman (VANDY) def. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) 6-4
- Daniel Valent/Panu Virtanen (VANDY) def. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,3,6,2)
